Arkansas Storm Team Blog: Eating local produce in Arkansas this fall

Eating locally grown foods is a stellar way to support local business and economy, and a sneaky way to reduce your carbon footprint. Many produce items available at chain grocery stores fly hundreds of miles to make it to the display. By eating produce that was grown within the Natural State, these foods don’t have to travel as far to make it to your plate.

There are a lot of great produce items that are harvested in the fall in Arkansas. From September to November, local farmers across the state can offer a variety of fall produce, including apples, pumpkins, and corn. But there are other fall produce items to look out for, too, to eat locally.

Per the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension, the Arkansas Agriculture Department, Arkansas SNAPEd, and Arkansas Grown, September features a variety of fruits, vegetables, and legumes that can be harvested. Local farmers can harvest apples, cantaloupe, muscadines, watermelon, green beans, butter beans, collard greens, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers, pumpkin, black-eyed peas, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and winter squash in September in Arkansas. In mid-September, many cooler-season plants are planted to gear up for late fall and early winter harvests.

In October, local Arkansas farmers can still harvest produce like apples, cantaloupe, green beans, butter beans, collard greens, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers, pumpkin, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and winter squash. By October, as the air starts to get a little cooler, some salad greens and lettuce varieties could be included in harvests. The only difference in harvest availability in October as compared to September is the addition of leafy greens. However, produce like muscadines and watermelon are likely no longer being harvested locally. Additionally, October is generally the latest month in the year to harvest apples, cantaloupe, green beans, butter beans, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes locally.

November’s harvest includes a different line-up of produce compared to September and October. The first frost occurs on average between late October and mid-November in Arkansas, and locally harvested produce changes a bit with the changing conditions as cooler air really settles into the region. In November, local harvests can include beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chard, collard greens, English peas, kale, lettuce, pumpkin, spinach, turnip greens, and winter squash. The only produce available from September to November is collard greens, pumpkin, and winter squash.

December features a lot of similar possibilities for local harvests compared to November. Products that can be harvested in Arkansas in both November and December include beets, broccoli, cabbage, chard, collard greens, English peas, kale, lettuce, spinach, turnip greens, and winter squash. The newest addition to local harvest schedules in December (as compared to November) is radishes.

From September to December, only collard greens and winter squash are available during the 4-month duration of local harvesting. Each fall month features a lot of possibilities for eating locally and supporting local farmers in Arkansas. So even though the weather is growing cooler outside, plenty of Arkansas produce is still available.

This year, drought conditions may be complicating certain harvests. The drought monitor from the National Drought Mitigation Center comes out once a week with data collected from Tuesday to Tuesday. The drought monitor is released every Thursday morning. The latest drought monitor (data as of September 9, map as of September 11) shows large swaths of the state are in dire need of rainfall. This is adding stress to local crops, especially in areas highlighted below in tan (Moderate Drought) and orange (Severe Drought). Areas below in yellow indicate they’re drier than normal but not in a declared drought at this time.